New York, NY—The International Photographic Council (IPC), a nongovernmental organization (NGO) of the United Nations, announced the recipients of its 2013 IPC Professional Photographer Leadership Awards. The recipients will be honored at the 15th Annual IPC Pro Award Luncheon, to be held at the United Nations in New York City on May 22, at 11:30 a.m.
As it does each year, the IPC Awards luncheon kicks off “May, International Professional Photography Month,” which salutes professionals around the globe.
At the event, the award luncheon chair and keynoter, Andy Marcus, president of Fred Marcus Photography, will discuss “The World of Professional Photographers.” James Chung, IPC’s president will welcome the group, and then IPC’s vice presidents, Kathy Schneider and Alice Miller, will interview the honorees to determine what drives their passion for photography, how their businesses have adapted to change and their must-have photography products.
“The winners, nominated by professional photography organizations, are selected because they best represent the groups’ criteria and ideals,” said James Chung.
Eight associations have designated honorees for the 2013 IPC Leadership Award: American Photographic Artists (APA); American Society of Media Photographers (ASMP); Federation of European Photographers (FEP); National Press Photographers Association (NPPA); Professional Photographers of America (PPA); Professional School Photographers Association (PSPA); White House News Photographers Association (WHNPA); and Wedding & Portrait Photographers International (WPPI).
The 2013 IPC Professional Photographer Leadership Award recipients are:
Anthony Nex, APA
Shawn Henry, ASMP
Neil Warner, FEP
Michelle McLoughlin, NPPA
Don Dickson, PPA
John Rak, PSPA
Charles Dharapak, WHNPA
Cliff Mautner, WPPI
Anthony Nex has a large commercial studio in Los Angeles, with a clientele that includes Disney, Sony, Microsoft, Citibank, Fox and MGM. Originally specializing in still life, his assignments have ranged from Ndebele children in South Africa to motor homes in Kentucky, from glass factories in Pennsylvania to reef sharks in the South Pacific. As cochairman of the Los Angeles Chapter of APA, he helps photographers on the rise bring their vision to a global audience.
Shawn G. Henry, the former national president of the American Society of Media Photographers, has worked as an editorial and corporate photographer for nearly 25 years. He shoots assignments for Business Week, Forbes and Time magazine as well as the National Geographic Society. His corporate clients include Bank of America, Fidelity Investments and PricewaterhouseCoopers. Prior to joining the ASMP board, Henry served as vice president of Editorial Photographers.
Neil Warner, FBIPP, FMPA, FIPPAC, holds the Master Qualified European Photographer award, Fellowship of the Irish Professional Photographers Association, Fellowship of the British Institute of Professional Photography and Fellowship of the British Master Photographers Association. The FEP vice president, he specializes in corporate, commercial, illustrative, fine art photography and corporate video production. Warner was three times Irish Professional Photographer of the Year, FEP president from 2008–2012 and recipient of the FEP Merit Award for outstanding leadership and dedication.
Michelle McLoughlin, an independent photojournalist, has covered news, travel, sports, corporate reports, advertising and documentary stories for Reuters, the Associated Press, Newsweek, Time, Der Spiegel and Wired. Previously with the Meriden-Record Journal and the Middletown Press, McLoughlin is chairperson for NPPA’s Northern Short Course in Photojournalism and has been honored by the Society of Professional Journalists, Associated Press Managing Editors Association and New England Newspaper Association.
Don Dickson launched Don Dickson Photography 36 years ago, at age 20. He was president of PPA in 2011, is a Certified Professional Photographer, and has a Master of Photography degree, Photographic Craftsman degree and Honorary Master of Photography degree from PPA. He was awarded the Honorary Education Associate from the American Society of Photographers and won the Gerhard Bakker Award, PPA’s highest award for excellence in education. Dickson is executive director of the Texas School of Photography, the largest PPA-affiliated photographic school.
John Rak purchased the Artona Group in Vancouver, Canada, in 1977, at age 22 with his wife, Mun Kwan. Today they have a staff of 120 and sales have increased 100 fold. Rak focuses on customer service, technological innovation and continuous improvement. A member of PMA, PSPA and SPAC, he speaks at industry focus groups, chairs meetings on the state of the school photography industry, and mentors and encourages photographers to celebrate human achievement through portraiture.
Charles Dharapak began his photojournalism career in 1995 as a staff photographer for the Associated Press in Bangkok, Thailand, and covered the pro-democracy movement in Burma and Cambodia’s civil war. Named the AP’s chief photographer and photo editor in Jakarta, Indonesia, he covered riots leading to the fall of dictator Suharto, East Timor’s independence, communal and religious conflicts, as well as the rise of Muslim extremism. After assignments in the Middle East covering the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, he transferred to the AP Washington bureau, where he covered the White House and national politics, including the 2004, 2008 and 2012 presidential campaigns.
Cliff Mautner began his 30-year photography career as a photojournalist with the Philadelphia Inquirer, where in 15 years he covered 6,000 assignments. He then amassed an eclectic commercial clientele ranging from Comcast to Subaru, before launching his wedding photography business. Some 850 weddings later, Mautner is best known for his ability to create quality images in severe lighting conditions and for his diligence in capturing decisive moments. He was named one of the top 10 worldwide wedding photographers by American Photo magazine, won the WPPI Grand Award for photojournalism, and was named the 2012 Nikon WPPI Photographer of the Year. He is a spokesperson for Nikon and Nikkor and founder of the Lighting and Skillset Bootcamp near Philadelphia.
Reservations for the May 22, 2013 IPC Pro Award Luncheon at the United Nations must be received by April 26. To RSVP or receive more information, call James Chung at 914.476.1712 or e-mail him at jchung1@prodigy.net.
The International Photographic Council is a multinational, nonprofit, nongovernmental organization of the United Nations, composed of representatives from every major sector of the photographic industry. Founded in 1974, IPC is dedicated to increasing worldwide recognition of photography as a universal means of communication. IPC’s motto is “Peace Through Understanding, Understanding Through Photography, the Universal Language.” ipc-un-ngo.org
